Minnesota's chilly spring tops Paul Hoynes' MLB week in review

View full sizeNick Wass / Associated PressIt's been a difficult first month of the season for Ron Gardenhire and the Minnesota Twins, expected to run at the top of the AL Central.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Twenty baseball moments from last week that you can't do without. All stats are through Friday.

1. When the Twins swept a two-game home series from the Indians April 22-23, it appeared the defending AL Central champions were righting themselves. Then they lost four straight through Friday to fall to 9-16, eight games behind the first-place Indians.

After 25 games last season, the Twins were 16-9 with a half-game lead. The last time a Ron Gardenhire team was eight games off the pace was May 21, 2007.

No. 2: In his first four starts of the season, Arizona's Armando Galarraga pitched 21 innings and his offense scored 21 runs.

3. Did Carlos Santana's game-winning grand slam Friday remind you of anything? How about Paul Sorrento's two-run homer off Toronto's Darren Hall on June 4, 1995? The Indians were down, 7-0, against David Cone after the first inning. Sorrento won it in the ninth to become part of the fabric of that magic season.

It was one of those homers where you remember exactly where you where at and what you were doing when it was hit. Just like Santana's slam Friday.

4. Some players keep getting chance after chance in the big leagues. Others get one look and the door closes. Then there are those who never get an invitation.

Adam Miller's best chance to make the big leagues came in 2007. He was in spring training with the Indians and threw 14 scoreless innings. He was the best pitcher in camp, but the Indians decided he needed more seasoning. Elbow and finger injuries followed, stealing Miller's promise and damaging his 100 mph fastball.

On Friday the Indians promoted Miller, 27, from extended spring training to Class A Kinston. He is still the long, lean Texan the Indians drafted out of high school in 2002, but he hasn't pitched in a minor-league game since 2008 at Class AAA Buffalo.

Paul Hoynes' Rant of the Week

Imagining White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen getting suspended two games for a stray tweet is not unusual. The real story would be if he didn’t get suspended with his Twitter fingers so active.

As David Huff found out last year, Twitter has sharp teeth. MLB suspended Guillen for a tweet he wrote after getting ejected from Wednesday’s game against by plate umpire Todd Tichenor. The powers that be found Guillen in violation of the game’s social media policy regarding the use of electronics during a game.

This is a guess, but it’s probably safe to say Guillen wasn’t up to date on that policy. What team would be? Look no farther than the AL Central-leading Indians. From President Mark Shapiro to GM Chris Antonetti to manager Manny Acta to closer Chris Perez to prospects Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, the Indians have given Twitter a big hug.

It’s true that Huff missed out on a big-league call up last-year when someone prematurely tweeted that he was on way, but that was before the Indians accepted it as a organization-wide policy. Shapiro sees Twitter as another way to reach out to fans. If one day they fill the empty seats at Progressive Field, so much the better.

Yet what are the odds of going a whole season without a Guillen-like tweet hitting cyberspace? Perhaps the solution is to stay in first place, where life is serene and the most volatile tweet is Acta naming his song of the day.

— Paul Hoynes

He's had to learn to pitch again after having the middle finger on his right hand operated on at least four times. At the time of last week's promotion, he was hitting 95 mph and showing a decent slider.

"It truly has been inspiration to witness," said Ross Atkins, Indians director of player development.

5. Seattle swept the Tigers last week for the first time since July of 2003.

6. Eight of the 10 RBI Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist had in a doubleheader Thursday against the Twins came in the first game. "Anytime you have that many RBI it's because your teammates are on base for you every time," Zobrist told reporters.

7. After a 2-10 start, Boston won nine of its next 13 games to revive itself for the next five months.

8. The Angels, according to STATS, are 12-3 when they score first. Only the Indians, at 13-2, are better.

9. Tampa Bay's James Shields, who started Saturday, allowed just one run in throwing four-hitters in his previous two starts.

10. Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier hit in 25 straight games through Friday. It's the longest April hitting streak in history.

11. Jason Donald didn't make the Indians' opening day roster, but he did make the All-Star ballot as their hopeful at third base.

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